


love you like that

by Evoxine



Series: grandloves. [4]
Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Sports, Anniversary, Dorks in Love, Fluff and Smut, Locker Room Sex, M/M, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Overstimulation, Praise Kink, Romance, Sappy, Sex Toys, Summer Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-28
Updated: 2019-07-28
Packaged: 2020-07-23 20:20:55
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20014243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Evoxine/pseuds/Evoxine
Summary: Moving in together, family vacations, great sex, and their first year anniversary.Junior year starts offswimmingly.





	love you like that

**Author's Note:**

> One year ago today, the first fic in the series was published~  
> Happy anniversary to QB and Nemo ♡

There’s an empty cardboard box by his feet and Jongin is leaning against his dresser, lips pursed in thought as he mulls over what he wants to pack. He’s moving into Sehun’s studio today, and because of the limited space, he has to carefully sort through all of his stuff for the most important ones. He’ll be bringing his camera and a few lenses, but deciding on anything beyond that has been a struggle.

He would bring the bear on his window sill, but finding a place for it in Sehun’s apartment will be close to impossible. Oh! Speaking of things that Sehun has given him… Jongin retrieves a box off a shelf that he uses to store everything from Sehun – swim medals, love notes and letters, doodles of their names on the back of a receipt. What follows is a photo album he’d started a few months into their relationship, the pages now filled with photographs of their time spent together.

He’s thumbing through the pictures when he remembers what Sehun had said just last night. “It’ll be your home just as much as it’s mine,” his voice soft, words slurring a little from drowsiness as he burrowed into Jongin’s warmth.

The smile that spreads across his face at the memory is instantaneous. After placing everything in his arms into the box, Jongin starts circling his room and selecting some personal items that he thinks would go well with the vibe of Sehun’s apartment. He takes a few framed photographs of his family, his first-ever football (tattered but well-loved), and several gifts he’s been given over the years from family and friends. It’s a good start, he thinks.

On the other side of the room is Jongdae, who’s being an angel and re-folding all of the clothes Jongin had tossed into a ‘To Bring’ pile on his bed. As soon as he heard the news, Jongdae had offered to help, happy to be given a chance to escape babysitting duties for his neighbour’s daughter.

“Can you even fit all these clothes into Sehun’s closet? Last time I was there, it was practically overflowing.”

Jongin snorts, fingers working carefully to wrap a snowglobe up in bubble wrap. “It was, but he moved a whole bunch of clothes back to his family home. I _think_ I’ll be able to get all my stuff in there now. If not… well, perhaps it’s time for a new closet.”

They work in companionable silence for a while, the only sounds filling the room being the soft rustle of clothes and the jarring pull of packing tape. The quiet doesn’t really help Jongin tamp down on his excitement though – sure, he stays over most days of the week anyway, but he is _officially moving in_. He’ll be contributing to the rent and utilities, all his mail will be re-directed to the apartment, and Sehun has already duplicated an extra set of keys just for him.

In less than an hour’s time, Junmyeon will swing by in his car to bring them and Jongin’s few boxes over to the apartment. Sehun’s busy at his internship, but he’d promised to rush home as soon as work ends.

Home. With Sehun. The mere thought has Jongin breaking out into a goofy grin, and it’s in full bloom when Jongdae looks up to ask a question.

“Hey, are you gonna – oh jeez, I want to gag just looking at the joy on your face.”

Jongin lifts a shoulder and pushes the flaps of the box down. “You’re secretly jealous.” He’s too busy struggling with the roll of tape to notice the look on Jongdae’s face, one that says, _yeah I am._

  
Not that he has done this enough times for comparison, but Jongin’s a hundred percent certain that unpacking after a move (albeit a small one) has never been his fun. It’s been forty minutes since Sehun returned home, and while they’ve only managed to unpack a third of the box in that time, Jongin’s received close to twenty kisses.

“Sto-o-o-oop,” Jongin groans, trying not to let laughter slip out when he reaches forward in an attempt to snatch a photograph (him at the age of 5, ice-cream smeared all over his face and their old family dog in the middle of licking him clean) out of Sehun’s hands. The latter ducks out of the way with surprising speed, eyes crinkled up in amusement as he runs around the couch. “Babe, come on! No one else has to know I was a messy eater, alright?”

Sehun sticks his tongue out at him – “Oh, very mature,” Jongin says, – and snaps a picture of the picture with his phone. A few more taps on the screen and from across the room, Jongin’s phone pings with a notification, undoubtedly from Sehun to their group chat.

“You’re horrible,” Jongin deadpans, but he’s well aware that his expression tells Sehun otherwise. If he focuses, he can almost feel love spill from his eyes and run down his cheeks like sparkly tears.

“It’s such a cute picture,” Sehun says, finally passing the photograph back to Jongin. “How come you’re no longer that cute?”

A growl rumbles in Jongin’s throat and Sehun barely has time to shriek before he’s tackled into the couch, giggles spilling out of him when a warm hand slips up underneath his shirt to tickle at his ribs.

The photograph flutters to the floor and ends up beneath the coffee table where it sits there patiently, waiting for the pair on the couch to stop their tickle fight and resume unpacking. It turns out to be a long wait because the tickle fight soon becomes a sweet, slow make-out session, Sehun sprawled out on his back with Jongin between his legs, warm hands cupping his jaw and even warmer lips around his.

When they part for air, Sehun drops one final kiss on the tip of Jongin’s nose and says, “We’re not gonna finish unpacking before we have to head out for dinner, huh?”

Jongin hums throatily and thumbs at the slick swell of Sehun’s lip. “Nope,” he replies, and grins when Sehun leans in for more.

In fact, they barely manage to leave in time for dinner. Hair mussed, lips swollen, and with light in their eyes, they dash out of the apartment and down towards the bus stop just in time to catch the bus they need.

Sehun spends the short ride trying to fix Jongin’s hair and he manages to get it to look relatively tamed before they get to their stop. With a smile to the bus driver, he follows Jongin off the bus and they head towards one of their favourite family restaurants hand-in-hand.

They’re the last ones to arrive. Their parents are already seated at the table, nursing chilled beers and probably trading anecdotes of their sons’ respective childhoods.

“Sorry we’re late,” Sehun calls, dragging Jongin away from the dessert display. “Unpacking was more of a… challenge than we thought.”

Hugs are exchanged and while Jongin darts off to the bathroom, everyone else settles down to order. Sehun orders for his boyfriend and makes sure he reserves a slice of Jongin’s favourite cheesecake before it all runs out, handing the menu back to the waitress just as Jongin returns.

Sehun receives a kiss on the cheek in thanks.

The flow of conversation naturally heads towards the boys living together.

“I cannot thank you enough,” Mrs. Kim says seriously, “for taking him off our hands. He’s such a handful.”

Sehun laughs over Jongin’s indignant splutter. “It’s my pleasure – it helps that he makes surprisingly good pancakes and makes the bed.”

“You’re not getting any pancakes for a week,” Jongin grouses. But the threat falls short and Sehun simply smiles fondly at him, aware that Jongin will make him pancakes whenever he wants.

The parents laugh, Jongin’s ears turn a little red at the tips, and Sehun can’t help but squeeze Jongin’s knee in mirth.

Over dessert, Jongin digs happily into his cheesecake, feeding Sehun bites as the latter discusses their upcoming travel plans with their parents. They’re going to Aruba in ten days, right after Sehun’s internship ends and two weeks before the new school year starts.

Jongin listens as Sehun goes over their flight details and accommodations, focusing on the pleasantness of his voice instead of what he’s actually saying. So when Sehun turns to him and says something, all Jongin really hears is… music.

“Huh?” He coughs, blinks, and takes a drink of water. “Sorry, say that again?”

His father snorts. “Told you he wasn’t listening.”

“I _was_ listening. To his voice, not the words.”

Sehun blushes a shade of red that Jongin never knew existed. He thinks it’s the prettiest shade.

  
Rolling over until he’s sprawled out on his stomach, Sehun props himself up on his elbows and watches as Jongin bustles about in the kitchen. He still can’t quite get his mind around the fact that they’re now living together, that this sight is something he’ll get to witness for days and weeks and months ahead.

His boyfriend’s fresh out of the shower, water still dripping off his hair and running down a bared back as he scrounges up the last of the fruit in the fridge. They’re flying off tomorrow and Jongin doesn’t want to leave any produce to rot in the fridge over the next week.

“Should we make a smoothie out of these tomorrow? Or just cut ‘em up now and eat them?”

“Anything you want, but I think I’d rather eat _you_ up.” Sehun says it so casually that it takes Jongin a long time to process his words.

“Okay, so I’ll wake up a little –” He pauses, an apple still in his right hand and two bananas in his left. “Wait. What did you say?”

Sehun simply beckons him over, shifting to an upright position during the time it takes for Jongin to set the fruits down and walk across the studio.

“I said; I would rather eat you up,” Sehun repeats, legs parting to accommodate Jongin’s frame between them. He reaches up, slides a palm up the curve of a pec and over the jut of a clavicle to rest against Jongin’s pulse point. It’s steady, and it thrills Sehun to know that the source of this particular pulse belongs to him and him only.

This man is _his_. The thought pulls something animalistic out of him, a need and a want all rolled into one.

When Sehun pulls Jongin down, he goes easily, and the bed dips when Jongin shifts to support his weight with a knee on the mattress. Sehun drapes both arms around Jongin’s shoulders and hums into the kiss, scalp tingling from the brush of Jongin’s fingers carding through his hair.

“We have an early flight,” Jongin mumbles, even as he helps Sehun scoot backwards towards the headboard. “We should really sleep soon.”

“We should,” Sehun agrees, lifting his hips to let Jongin slip his underwear off. “Put me to sleep, then.”

There’s a glint in Jongin’s eyes when he sits back and runs his hands down Sehun’s sides, stopping at the seam of Sehun’s spread thighs, not missing how his nipples perk up at the caress. “Gonna do my best, baby.”

Propped up against the headboard, Sehun waits patiently while Jongin reaches over into the nightstand for some supplies – namely lube and a cock ring –, a hand absently palming at his growing erection.

The cock ring is lubed up and when Jongin slips it on for him, their eyes meet. Sehun can’t help but blurt out an “I love you,” one that Jongin echoes with a smile.

“What do you want?” Once the ring is securely in place and the vibration is set at the lowest intensity, Jongin starts to get comfortable – after all, this might last a while. With his gaze still locked onto Sehun’s face, he runs the tips of his fingers up Sehun’s cock, now fully erect and flushed with blood.

“You,” Sehun says, tongue darting out to wet his lip. “Anything you want to give me.”

“You know that I’ll always want to give you everything,” Jongin points out, lying down on his stomach and dropping a kiss on the soft skin of Sehun’s inner thigh. He kisses him again, higher up this time, eyes fixated on the way Sehun’s fingers bunch up the sheets. Then he kisses him once more, right on the tip of Sehun’s cock. Precome bleeds out into the seam of his lips and he makes sure Sehun’s eyes are on him when he licks it away.

“We have all the time in the world, yeah?”

Sehun nods wordlessly, eyelids fluttering shut and lips parting when Jongin slips the head of his cock into his mouth. He sighs at the pleasure rocketing through his veins, the sensation of Jongin’s tongue on him and mouth around him heightened a hundred times over by the vibrating cock ring.

Like this, time flows by like a river of sand, thick and slow. All Jongin can taste is Sehun and the weight of him in his mouth is grounding, making the aches in his jaw extremely worth the effort. After what feels like hours, he pulls away with a wet pop, dragging the flat of his tongue up along the thick vein on the underside one final time. Sehun shivers, cock flushed a deep purple and balls drawn up tight.

“Get on your knees, babe. Let me open you up.” Jongin’s voice is rough and abused, and god, the sound of it is so sexy.

It’s with trembling limbs that Sehun does as he’s told. Jongin pushes down on the space between his collarbones until Sehun’s face is pushed into the pillows, back curved at an almost impossible angle.

At the first swipe of Jongin’s tongue over his hole, Sehun lets out a loud, broken moan that he muffles into his pillow. He can feel Jongin’s fingers dig into the meat of his ass, thumbs slipping between the cheeks to spread him open.

“Stunning,” Jongin breathes, kissing his hole once with what Sehun can only describe as worship. Sehun doesn’t even have the chance to blush before that talented tongue is back doing wicked things to his entrance, swirling and lapping and prodding, easily reducing him into a trembling mess held up only by Jongin’s hands.

By the time Jongin’s gotten him loose enough for a finger, he finds himself already on the brink of orgasm, the cock ring doing its job – both at delivering pleasure and keeping him away from it – wonderfully. This is what he wants, to be riding this icy-hot edge, his pleasure relinquished into the hands of someone he loves.

So when a slick fingertip brushes teasingly against his prostate, Sehun lets out a cry much louder than he’d anticipated, hips instinctively bucking back against the pressure. He can feel his cock drooling onto the sheets and then Jongin’s right there, kissing the curve of his shoulder and murmuring a “You’re so good to me,” into his ear.

Sehun moans, turning his head around in a blind search for Jongin’s lips. He gets them instantly, and Jongin greedily swallows down all of the little noises that he coaxes out of his boyfriend with gentle circles over his prostate.

At some point, Sehun’s knees give out from the overwhelming burn of pleasure, orgasm sweetly denied with the ring around the base of his cock. So Jongin turns him over onto his back, sucks a nipple into his mouth, and slips a third finger in.

Sehun doesn’t know how much time has passed. All he can focus on is his intense need to come and the presence of Jongin _everywhere_. When Jongin finally retracts his fingers and replaces them with the length of his cock, Sehun finds himself close to tears.

“Good?”

“So good,” Sehun mumbles, breath hitching when Jongin bottoms out.

“Yeah?”

“Everything I wanted,” Sehun confirms, the last syllable breaking off into a shaky moan when Jongin rocks his hips. It takes six thrusts for the tears to actually come – Jongin thumbs them away and smiles, looking so _fucking perfect_ that Sehun just cries a little more.

It’s clear that Jongin’s been wound up for a while, because it isn’t long before his hips go off rhythm. “Babe, I’m gonna come soon.”

Sehun’s eyes are all pupil. “Okay,” he whispers, watching through heavy lids as Jongin reaches down between them to take the cock ring off. A tug on his cock and Sehun’s orgasm hits him like a freight train, back bowing at an impossible angle and sending come streaking across Jongin’s chest.

His orgasm lasts for what seems like eons, pain-pleasure ripping through him and leaving shreds of bliss in its wake. Everything was too much and it stays too much, even as his orgasm ebbs and colour floods back into his world, because Jongin’s _still_ moving inside him. Sehun tries to breathe through the oversensitivity sparking down his cock and around the rim of his hole, faintly aware of his name from Jongin’s lips and the warm rush of Jongin’s come.

He shudders when Jongin leans down to mouth at his jaw, a thumb brushing over a nipple and the ridges of his abdomen rubbing up against his spent cock. He shudders again when Jongin slips out of him, feeling his hole clench around nothing and wetness between his thighs.

Sehun drifts off into a hazy daze, barely registering the gentle swipes of a washcloth across his skin as Jongin cleans them up. It’s only when the lights are switched off and Jongin pulls him flush against his chest does Sehun come back to his senses.

“Baby, you good?”

All Sehun feels is loved.

“Never better.”

  
The first thing Sehun does after they check into their rooms is run inside and change into his swimwear. It’s clear that he wants to take advantage of the last few hours of sunlight to bask in the blue waters and soak up some sun, so Jongin tells Sehun that he’ll catch up after he unpacks their toiletries and freshens up. Sehun’s sprinting out of the terrace door as soon as his swim shorts are on, only stopping to give Jongin a kiss on the cheek before he’s a blur across the white sand.

When Jongin finally exits their villa and sinks a bare foot into soft sand, he spots a familiar figure floating on the surface of the nearby sea, although he’s a little too far to glimpse the peaceful expression that Jongin knows is on Sehun’s face. He finds Sehun’s parents lounging on the padded beach chairs, sunglasses perched on their noses and books in their hands.

Mrs. Oh peers over the frame of her shades and waves at him. She twists around to look over her shoulder and Jongin sees her eyebrows rise.

“Is he already in the water?”

Jongin laughs, “Where else would he be?”

“Please make sure he’s got his sunscreen on!”

Sending Mrs. Oh a thumbs up, Jongin continues towards the shoreline. He’s just about to step into the lapping waves when Sehun flips around and breaks through the surface, his streamlined figure cutting through the water effortlessly.

A little over ten seconds later and Sehun’s feet touch sand, water cascading down his frame when he stands.

“Took you long enough.”

Sehun’s actually glowing from the inside out. His skin is glistening from the water and the sunlight, eyes bright from the sheer joy he gets whenever he swims. Jongin can’t help but lean in and kiss him.

“Babe, not all of us get re-energized from swimming.”

With a grand roll of his eyes, Sehun reaches out and wraps a wet hand around Jongin’s wrist.

“C’mon, come swim with me.” Sehun’s using his cute voice, the one that he thinks is the key to getting what he wants out of Jongin. But little does he know, he always gets what he wants simply because Jongin is stupidly in love with him.

So Jongin lets Sehun pull him deeper into the waters where he pushes off the sandy bottom and swims after his very own Nemo.

They end up floating on their backs, possibly at the very same spot Sehun was at earlier. The sky is still a bright blue, but with dusk creeping up on them, it isn’t bright enough to hurt the eyes. So they stare up at the sparse clouds together, fingers wrapped tightly around each other’s to ensure they don’t get separated due to the movement of the ocean.

After a brief, quiet lull, Sehun speaks up. “We’ve been here for an hour and this is already the best holiday of my life.”

Jongin can taste salt on his lips. Overhead, a flock of birds fly past and the sunlight on their faces contrasts wonderfully with the coolness of the water against their backs.

“Mine, too.”

There’s a tight squeeze around his fingers and Jongin can’t help but smile. Then, he remembers. “Hey, did you remember to put sunscreen on?”

  
Every single day of their seven-day vacation is packed to the brim; there is never a dull moment.

It’s a sunny day when they go ATV riding, racing each other across seaside bluffs, beaches, and dirt roads while their parents follow at a more leisurely pace behind. After the initial burst of adrenaline, the race tapers out into a companionable ride, Jongin stopping ever-so-often to capture a photograph of the scenery while Sehun waits a few feet up ahead for him.

Jongin has a favourite photograph from that day: one of Sehun’s face the second he lays on the Natural Pool. It’s ridiculously adorable, really, how Sehun lights up at the sight of _any_ pool.

“It’s gorgeous,” Sehun whispers, awestruck by the rock formations, the clear emerald waters, and the daring crab that scuttles right by his feet.

That’s when Jongin snaps the photograph. He lowers the camera, leans forward to kiss Sehun on the cheek, and says, “Yeah, it really is.”

With a smile tossed over his shoulder, Sehun pulls his shirt over his head – he’d left the villa in swim shorts, something that Jongin suspects will be the case for the duration of their vacation – and jumps into the sparkling surface.

“And off he goes,” someone says fondly. Jongin turns around to see his mother standing there and he reaches out to sling an arm around her shoulder.

“Off he goes,” Jongin agrees, watching as Sehun completes a lap around the pool with incredible speed. He pops out of the water and shakes his hair out of his face, then lets out a happy whoop and dives right back in.

Jongin’s mother gives his hip a little nudge. “Go on, join him. Don’t worry about us; we want to give the hiking trail a go. We’ll be back in thirty, forty minutes?”

He doesn’t need to be told twice. Taking care to slide his camera into a waterproof bag and placing that into his backpack, Jongin rids himself of his own shirt and strips down to his board shorts. “Okay, Mum. Be careful – the rocks can be slippery.”

The parents depart and Jongin slides into the water, swimming over to the other side where Sehun’s peering at something on the rocks.

“Hey.” Wrapping an arm around Sehun’s middle, Jongin rests his chin on a tanned shoulder and noses at a water droplet on Sehun’s jaw. “What are you looking at?”

“Baby crabs,” Sehun says, turning around to pull Jongin closer. “But you’re cuter. Hi, QB.”

If they end up making out for twenty minutes in one of the most beautiful natural pools they have ever seen, well, neither one has any complaints.

  
They’ve already spent a couple of days with the sea, but it’s obviously not enough, and so they board a catamaran. There’s champagne and croissants for breakfast, a whole lot of open space for sunbathing, and a whole lot of open sea. Their parents have chosen not to join them on this particular outing, electing to head out to the Butterfly Farm instead. The couple finds themselves joined aboard by a quartet of young women, likely around the same age as them, and a friendly older couple.

After breakfast, Sehun promptly peels off his shirt and ambles out from beneath the shade to find a nice spot on the sunbathing trampoline. Jongin watches him go, tracks the movement of strong, lean legs with his eyes and follows the ripples of sunlight across smooth skin. He’s just about to get up and join his boyfriend when one of the girls speak up.

“You guys look really good together. We’re actually kinda jealous,” she says, ending her sentence with a wink. Her friends voice their collective agreement and Jongin laughs, thanking them with a little bow.

“It’s mostly him, really. He’s the cuter one.” Jongin leaves to a loud chorus of _awww_ s and his grin stays plastered on his face up until he settles down next to Sehun.

Sehun’s skin is slightly tacky from sunblock, but Jongin runs loving hands up the length of a thigh and unceremoniously sticks a finger into his belly button. Sehun yelps and smacks Jongin’s hand away, and they end up rolling around on the trampoline while Sehun tries – and fails – to take revenge.

They lie there in a tangle of limbs, basking in the sun’s warmth and letting the sea breeze card through the strands of their hair.

“Love you,” Sehun mumbles into Jongin’s arm, sounding pleasantly drowsy from the food and the sun. Heart aching from immense fondness, Jongin re-arranges them so that Sehun’s got his head pillowed on his shoulder.

“Love you too, babe. Take a nap if you want, I’ll wake you when we stop to snorkel.”

Sehun does end up dozing off, and despite the developing numbness in his arm, Jongin doesn’t move one inch. He closes his eyes and listens to the roar of the water and the wind, focuses on the rise and fall of Sehun’s chest that he feels against his side.

Time slips by like the water all around them, fluid and easy, and it isn’t long before the catamaran slows to a stop. Jongin cracks an eye open and squints – ah, they’ve stopped at their first snorkelling point.

He wakes Sehun up with a kiss to his sun-warm forehead.

“Hey Nemo, time for you to get back in the water.”

The prospect of snorkelling has Sehun up and revving to go in seconds, rousing with a cute scrunch of his nose that makes it incredibly difficult for Jongin to peel away from him. But they manage to part long enough to put on their goggles, snorkels, and flippers, Sehun leaping off the side of the watercraft with a gleeful shout as soon as his equipment is in place.

It’s a whole new world beneath the surface. They see shoals of fish and other sea creatures, plenty of underwater plant life, and even a shipwreck that they later find out is the SS Antilla. Jongin spots a hawksbill and the pair of them follow it around for a few minutes, hands linked as always, until Sehun’s attention is snatched by two blue tangs.

They’re the last ones to climb back aboard the catamaran, and Jongin is lucky enough to catch a glimpse of Sehun’s blush when one of the girls release a cheeky whistle at their emergence. Jongin laughs, reaching out to thumb away water droplets rolling down Sehun’s flushed cheek.

After all, Jongin can’t really blame them. Sehun truly is a sight to behold when he steps out of any body of water, muscles tight and skin shiny. He leans in to whisper just that into Sehun’s ear, and he’s rewarded with yet another blush and a scandalized _Jongin!_

  
Most nights are spent with their families, going on sunset sails and shopping for unique trinkets and souvenirs. Sehun buys a whole bunch of gifts for their friends and Jongin finds a cute fabric doll for his niece, even managing to find a change of clothes for the doll.

Jongin spots a handmade necklace, simple yet intricate, and is so close to buying it for Sehun when his mother pinches his elbow and says, “Give him the one we have at home. The one your grandparents passed down. I think that would be more meaningful, don't you?”

“You'd let me give that to him?”

His mother smiles. “Well, your sisters don't care much for family heirlooms, and I know your anniversary is coming up. He seems like the kind of person who appreciates a gift that's unique and thought out. Besides, I have a feeling it'll stay in the family even if you give it to him, hm?”

Jongin, thrilled to bits, kisses his mother on the cheek in thanks.

It’s nice being able to spend time with their parents like this; the sons linking arms with their mothers as they stroll down the length of the beach, fathers following close behind.

But while spending all this quality time with their parents is lovely, what’s the point of coming to a place like Aruba if you don’t get to experience their nightlife?

The older couples have already retired for the night, but Sehun and Jongin are busy changing out of their beach clothes and into ones more suitable for club hopping. It doesn’t take much effort, not when tousled hair and kohl-rimmed eyes paired with a skinny jeans and tight t-shirt combo is enough.

“I love it when you wear stuff like this,” Jongin says. He steps up behind Sehun, hands settling on sharp hips, and locks eyes with the other through the mirror. “It’s a different type of sexy.”

Sehun simply crooks an eyebrow, an amused smile playing across his lips. “Yeah?” He turns back to the mirror and continues fixing his hair. “Does that mean you want me to dress like this more often?”

Jongin’s answer is immediate. “No. It’s a treat for me when you do. And besides, I don’t like the idea of other people getting to see you like this on a regular basis.”

“Even if they do,” Sehun sing-songs, capping the small tub of wax and turning around in Jongin’s hold. “I’m yours, remember?”

“Always?”

“You want me always?”

“I want you always,” Jongin confirms, and proceeds to kiss the pleased smile off Sehun’s face. They have time, he reasons. They always have time when it comes to them.

The night starts off with a blast. As soon as they board the party bus, Sehun and Jongin befriend a few college students from the UK, quickly soaking up their infectious energy and excitement for what’s to come. Free welcome shots at the door has everyone buzzing in no time, although most stop at the bar for one of the many unique cocktails on the menu – Sehun orders a shockingly pink drink and drains it in one go, and Jongin is only able to taste it when Sehun drops a fat kiss on his lips.

Out in the middle of the club, the dance floor is already packed with tourists. One of their new friends grabs Jongin by the wrist and drags him out into the crowd, and it’s thanks to sheer luck that he doesn’t trip over multiple feet along the way. Sehun joins him soon enough, a familiar touch on his hip and around his waist, and it’s so easy to fall into the groove of the music when you’re with someone you know so well.

The entire club is hyped up with people dancing and giving in to more primal desires. There’s alcohol in abundance and the speakers are working overtime to fill the establishment with music and heavy bass that you can feel from your feet all the way up to your throat.

Despite the presence of their friends around them, Jongin gives Sehun nearly all of his attention and receives the same. They don’t talk, choosing to let their bodies speak instead. Sharing air, sharing heat, sharing space – Sehun presses close and Jongin keeps him close, one hand snug in Sehun’s back pocket and the other curled around his neck.

It’s not so much dancing as swaying to the beat, but it’s good enough for them. They trade kisses, on lips and cheeks and necks, open-mouthed and closed-lipped, chaste and deep. Sure, they interact with others, but they’re so wrapped up in each other that people feel bad trying to get their attention.

When their time at the first club runs out and they’re all ushered back onto the party bus, Sehun pulls Jongin aside on the curb and pulls him in for a long, deep, and borderline filthy kiss.

“Uh –” Jongin clears his throat. “Not that I’m complaining, but what was that for?”

“No reason,” Sehun shrugs, gaze hot. His touch seems hotter. “Every reason.”

Jongin’s just about to respond when someone from the bus wolf whistles and shouts, “Come on, lovebirds! You can continue making out at the next club!”

With a laugh, Sehun turns around and boards the bus, leaving Jongin to scramble after him.

And like this, the night goes on.

  
It makes sense that they spend the last day back out on the beach. Sehun takes the fathers out to wakeboard, the mothers camp out under oversized umbrellas, and Jongin befriends a little girl who’s trying to build the biggest sandcastle of her life.

When the fathers have gotten their fill of excitement for the day, they head back to their wives on sea legs. Sehun joins Jongin by the sandcastle and the little girl – Philippa – instantly takes to him, even going so far as to give Sehun her bright green plastic shovel. Together, the three of them get to building the sandcastle of Philippa’s dreams.

As Philippa goes to collect some pretty shells for décor, Jongin dumps half a bucket of sand all over Sehun’s foot.

“You’re an asshole,” Sehun says, not even trying to sound offended. He simply wriggles his toes until most of the sand trickles off, then carefully upends his own bucket packed with sand.

“Yet you love me,” Jongin points out.

“Indeed, I do.”

Grinning, Jongin scoops more sand back into his bucket and dumps it all over Sehun’s foot once more. Sehun simply fixes Jongin with a half-fond, half-exasperated look.

“You’re great with kids,” Jongin comments, looking over his shoulder at where Philippa is frowning down at a shell pinched between her chubby fingers.

Sehun’s gaze slants towards him and he snorts. “What, does that surprise you?”

“Of course not. You’re immensely loveable.” He pushes down on the sand inside his bucket and gives it a few pats with the flat of his plastic shovel. “Have you ever thought about kids?”

“What about them?”

“Do you want them? In the future?”

That question has Sehun looking up from the tower he’s building. He shuffles closer to Jongin, heedless of the sand that slips into his swim shorts.

“Do _you_ want kids?”

Jongin feels a weight land on his thigh and he looks down to see Sehun’s hand there, warm and familiar. He picks it up, threads his fingers through Sehun’s, holds on tight.

“I – Well, I. Yeah. I want a boy and a girl.”

Sehun’s thumb swipes slow and gentle across the ridges of his knuckles.

“A boy and a girl, huh?” He lifts Jongin’s hand up to his lips and kisses it. “Well, I guess you’ve got my answer too.”

A little dumbstruck, Jongin lets Sehun wriggle his fingers free, choosing to use the time to think of a response. But before he can get anywhere with that train of thought, Philippa comes running back with her shells, pigtails flopping about in the wind.

She dives into a story immediately, something about one of the pink shells she’s got in her bucket, and Sehun gives her his full attention. Jongin simply stares at Sehun’s profile, not even trying to tamp down on the wild image he’s got in his mind of the two of them along with two little kids.

  
They head back to school sporting healthy tans and arguably more attached at the hip than they already were. When they’ve all gathered at their table during lunch to catch up with everyone’s summers, Jongdae takes one look at them and his face twists into something hilarious, torn between happiness for them and _oh god, they’re going to be even more disgusting with each other._

Amidst the chaos of everyone trading stories and little trinkets picked up from various countries across the world, Kyungsoo slaps Chanyeol’s hand away from his plate and says placidly, “I already miss summer. None of you lot around trying to steal my food or play mediocre music at the worst moments.”

The only offended person is, unsurprisingly, Chanyeol. “ _Hey!_ I’m the only one who plays music!”

Kyungsoo fixes him with a pointed look and Chanyeol pulls a face, but nothing else is said. Everyone knows that Chanyeol will never dare start an argument with Kyungsoo of all people – his sense of self-preservation isn’t _that_ bad.

Someone hollers Jongin’s name from across the quad and he looks around to see Taemin jogging over, wearing one of the shirts that the university had given out to the freshmen during Frosh Week.

“You’re not a freshman,” Yixing points out, gesturing to the shirt.

“I lost my Frosh Leader shirt,” Taemin shrugs. “This will have to do. Anyway, just wanted to let you guys know that Minho’s hosting a farewell party on Saturday. He leaves next Thursday and he wants to give his house one last night of fun before he’s gone. It’s not gonna be a big house party, more like a get-together of his close friends and all. There will be alcohol, of course.”

There’s a messy chorus of _I’m down_ s and _I’ll be there_ s, then Taemin’s off again, running in another direction and cutting through a group of freshmen that scream his name.

“Can’t believe he’s graduated,” Yixing says, absently nibbling at a carrot stick. “It’s gonna be hard to find someone who’s remotely as good as he is at butterfly.”

Sehun chews on a watermelon cube and nods. “It’s a blow to the team for sure. But if the rest of us improve our times, I’m sure we can offset Minho’s departure.”

“I have faith in you,” Jongin declares, and drops a kiss on Sehun’s cheek with the loudest smack.

  
Despite arriving twenty minutes after the supposed start of the party, they turn out to be one of the early birds. Minho lets them inside with friendly one-armed hugs, ushering them towards the kitchen and practically ordering them to get something to eat or drink. Taemin and a couple of the others on the swim team are already there, seated around the table and chatting.

“You think you’ll keep swimming competitively?”

Sehun rests his hip against the counter with a bottle of chilled beer in his hand, eyes following Jongin out of pure instinct as his boyfriend cuts a path through the kitchen to sit by Taemin’s side. Then he hears Minho’s contemplative hum and turns to look at his friend just in time to see one shoulder lift.

“Gotta see how much the workload is,” Minho answers. “Don’t know if I’ll be able to juggle being a competitive swimmer and a Masters student at the same time. I want to, of course, you know I do.”

“Yeah, I get it. Takes a lot of time and commitment.” He takes a pull from his beer and drags a thumb down the condensation. “Don’t stop swimming though.”

He gets a nudge to the ribs and Minho snorts out a, “Hey, I’m not the one with a fishy pet name. And I think the applicable phrase would be ‘Just keep swimming’ – isn’t that what Dory says?”

Sehun laughs, pressing the length of his beer bottle against Minho’s bare bicep. The yelp Minho releases at the sudden shock of cold is more than a little amusing, and Sehun sprints away before Minho can exact revenge. He ends up squirming under Jongin’s arm and onto his lap, his boyfriend leaning back instinctively to give him space before wrapping an arm around his middle and pulling him close.

“That’s cheating,” Minho complains.

Jongin isn’t even paying attention to them, too caught up in conversation with Taemin. But when Sehun rests his head on Jongin’s shoulder, smug and content, Jongin curls a hand around his nape and says, “You good?”

“Great,” Sehun assures him with a grin.

From across the table, Minho huffs dramatically and stalks off to answer the ringing doorbell.

After that point in time, people start arriving, trickling into the house like drops of water dripping out of a leaky faucet. They move from the kitchen into the den, where close to two dozen bodies attempt to squeeze into three couches – the unfortunate ones end up on the carpeted floor.

There’s a whole lot of overlapping conversation, chilled beer and cocktails, and bowls and bowls of finger food. Some engage in a furious Mario Kart battle, thumbs flying across controllers and shrieking laughter piercing through the air.

“So,” Baekhyun says, shamelessly flinging a leg across Sehun’s lap _and_ stealing the big Dorito chip Sehun was just about to take. “Your first year anniversary is coming up, huh?”

Sehun looks over at where Jongin’s playing miniature pool with Chanyeol and Yixing, his face lighting up in a beautiful laugh when Chanyeol mimics picking at his teeth with his tiny pool stick.

“Yeah.” Sehun tries not to smile like a loon, reaching out for a handful of chips so he can keep his mouth busy. “One year. Time really passes when you’re happy.”

“You know what you’re getting him?”

Sehun nods enthusiastically, swallowing a mouthful of beer and licking away a drop that has collected at the corner of his mouth. “It’s in progress. I think it’d be an amazing present. Might not fit in our apartment, but it was too good a gift to pass up.”

“I deserve an anniversary present too, you know.”

One glance at Baekhyun’s face tells Sehun that his friend isn’t quite joking. But he’s right to want one, Sehun thinks, because he’s the one who made it all happen.

“You really do,” Sehun agrees. “What do you want? Those headphones? I could probably convince –”

Baekhyun interrupts with a light punch to Sehun’s thigh. “Whoa, I didn’t mean something expensive. Just promise me I’ll be your best man when you two get married. Or that I’ll be the godfather of your first child.”

The mention of children has Sehun flushing happily. “Well, he wants a girl and a boy, so you’ll definitely be the godfather of one of them.”

A beat of silence, then: “My god, you guys really are gross.”

There’s a cheer – Jongdae has joined the three at the pool table and has managed to knock one of the teeny tiny balls into a teeny tiny corner pocket. The sound attracts Sehun’s attention, and when he turns to look, his gaze just happens to connect with Jongin’s when the latter glances up. Jongin smiles, Sehun smiles back, and Baekhyun fake-barfs into Sehun’s lap.

“Not gonna deny that,” Sehun shrugs. He takes another swallow of beer and slides his gaze over to his friend. “Speaking of relationships… How are things with you and –” He jerks his head in Jongdae’s direction. Baekhyun sighs.

“It is what it is. Neither of us know what we want, so we’re at an impasse of some sort.”

Sehun squeezes Baekhyun’s calf. “Sorry to hear that. If it’s any consolation, I know he just wants the best for you. Wants you to be happy, regardless of what that means for the both of you.”

Baekhyun doesn’t ask how he knows, but he doesn’t have to.

  
The first few weeks of junior year fly by in a rush of classes, the first wave of upcoming tests and assignments, and a whole bunch of training sessions. Before long, October is just around the corner and both Sehun and Jongin are revving up for the first swim meet and match of their respective sports seasons.

It isn’t rare for them to come home past dinnertime, exhausted and in need of a deep tissue massage. These nights are the nights that they truly appreciate the benefits of meal prepping, because it takes little to no effort for them to prepare dinner and they can just curl up on the couch with their food, in the comfort of each other’s presence.

Jongin’s the first one between them to start his season. His first match is on a Thursday and it’s an away game – unfortunately, Sehun’s got his own practice to attend and won’t be able to tag along.

The rest of the football team are bustling about, checking to make sure they’ve got all their gear before boarding the bus. Sehun’s got one of Jongin’s hands in his, the other settled on his hip as they steal a little moment to themselves.

“Good luck, QB. You’ll do great, I know you will. Win for me, yeah?”

Jongin kisses him once on the cheek and once on the lips. “Who else do I win for?”

Something flashes in Sehun’s eyes, primal and possessive. It’s gone in a flash, but Jongin manages to see it anyway.

“No one else,” Jongin tells him, chucking Sehun under his chin. His thumb comes to rest on the fullest part of Sehun’s bottom lip. “I gotta go. Love you.”

“And I love you.” Sehun presses his lips to the pad of Jongin’s thumb.

Later that night, Sehun’s in the middle of peeling a sheet mask off his face when the lock clicks and the door opens to reveal Jongin, skin clammy from sweat and traces of dirt streaked down his neck.

Sehun puckers up just as Jongin strides over, getting a nice kiss for his efforts and one more on his forehead as a bonus. “Tried to call you just now, but the call didn’t go through. Did you win?”

“Sorry baby, my phone died.” Jongin walks back to where he’d left his bag by the washer, kneeling down with a grunt as he loads his clothes in. He pulls his jersey off and chucks that inside too, looking over his bare shoulder to toss Sehun a smirk. “And of course we won. I promised you a win, didn’t I?”

The balled-up face mask lands inside the rubbish bin with a wet slap. Jongin strips down to his boxers and makes a beeline for the bathroom – after a few seconds, Sehun hears the sound of running water through the open door.

He strolls in, pulls the shower curtain open, and leans against the opposite wall. Jongin squints at him from under the spray, shampoo suds running down the sides of his face and down his chest.

“Wish I could’ve been there,” Sehun says, barely flinching when a few stray drops of water land on his face. “Your first game of the season and all.”

“It’s okay, love. You had practice, and you’re always with me in spirit anyway.”

Jongin is just about to reach for the face wash when he notices.

“Wait. You’re wearing my jersey.”

It’s an extra jersey that Sehun keeps for home use. The jersey is oversized because Sehun had wanted one that was big enough to sleep in comfortably. The hem reaches down to the middle of his thighs.

“I am,” Sehun confirms. “Took you a while to notice.”

Jongin scrubs at the dirt on his skin and mumbles through the suds, “I wanted to shower as soon as possible so that I could cuddle with you in bed. Not my fault I got my priorities straight.”

It’s at that particular moment that Sehun chooses to prop a foot up on the edge of the bathtub. The movement attracts Jongin’s attention, and Sehun is so _pleased_ when Jongin’s eyes dart south, sending the footballer choking on his spit and coughing up a storm.

“You’re –” He wheezes, face red. “You’re _only_ wearing my jersey.”

“Yes. Now hurry up, QB. You have another touchdown to score.”

  
Two weeks later and Sehun’s got three new medals to add to his collection.

But a swim meet – successful or otherwise – is just a swim meet, and once he’d gotten that over with, Sehun doesn’t give it any second of thought. Instead, he focuses all of his energy onto his and Jongin’s upcoming anniversary.

The present he’d commissioned for Jongin has finally arrived a few days ago – he had it delivered to his parents’ house for safekeeping, and his mother had sent him a few pictures as soon as she received it. It looks amazing and Sehun simply cannot wait to give it to him.

In just two days, the best relationship he’s ever had will turn one year old. A whole year! Sehun still can’t quite believe it. _Nothing_ will dampen his mood for the foreseeable future and their friends are already steeling themselves for a flood of exceptionally gross PDA from the couple. Sehun doesn’t blame them, because he can see it for himself how (extra) sappy Jongin’s gotten in the preceding weeks.

He’ll wake up some mornings to see Jongin already awake and gazing at him, feeling gentle fingers carding through his hair and strong legs twined around his own. There are days where Sehun will walk out of lectures to find Jongin standing there, some food item in one hand and a wildflower he’d picked from the school grounds in the other.

But the best part? For Sehun’s first swim meet of the season, Jongin went all out. He got placards made, brought balloons, and invested in a ridiculously expensive pair of swim goggles that Sehun wore. The fondness overshadowed the embarrassment, and Sehun was more than willing to let Jongin cheer and yell his name over and over again. He’d even put up with the plethora of teases coming from his teammates.

It's Friday today, and despite the fact that the team had just competed in a meet, they have practice. Sehun is barely five minutes into his warm-up stretches when Yixing nudges him and jerks his head towards the bleachers.

“Hey, lover boy’s here.”

Surprised, Sehun turns his eyes over to the bleachers. Sure enough, Jongin’s there, seated somewhere in the middle. He’s got his headphones on and an open textbook on his lap, features schooled into a look of concentration. The fact that he’d chosen to study at the pool instead of the library, just to be closer to Sehun, has the swimmer beaming.

“I didn’t know it was possible for him to be more in love,” Yixing quips, rolling out his shoulders and walking over to the edge of the pool.

“Neither did I,” Sehun admits, slipping into the water. He lets his gaze linger on Jongin’s frame for a little longer before he fits his brand new goggles over his eyes and plunges beneath the surface.

Jongin stays there for the entire duration of Sehun’s swim practice, nose buried in his textbook whenever Sehun sneaks a look. Somehow, his presence makes practice go by faster, and it seems like barely any time has passed before Sehun’s coach is calling it a day and everyone’s climbing out of the pool.

Instead of heading to the locker room, Sehun towels off and ambles over towards the bleachers.

“Hey babe.” He takes a seat next to Jongin, careful to keep water away from papers. “What’re you doing here? Doesn’t sitting like this hurt your neck?”

Jongin hums, making sure to mark his page before he shuts his textbook. “It’s nothing a good stretch won’t fix. Wanted to be near you today.” He leans over and Sehun meets him halfway. “How was practice?”

“Better than usual, since you were here,” Sehun says, and silently asks for another kiss. “I’m gonna go shower real quick, okay? Wait for me outside?”

The plan was to take a quick shower before heading home, but Sehun’s just finished washing his hair when the curtain to his stall is tugged open. He’s not startled, not when he could hear Jongin’s approaching footsteps through the rush of water.

“You know we’re not alone, right?”

Jongin simply pulls his shirt up over his head and hangs it on one of the hooks outside.

“Yeah,” he says. “That’s not a problem if we don’t make it a problem.”

Sehun watches through the stream of water as Jongin strips off the rest of his clothes. “Impatient to shower, are you?”

“Impatient to shower _with_ you,” Jongin clarifies, and promptly crowds into Sehun’s space under the showerhead. Sehun huffs out a smile, fondness showing even through the dull throb of pain that floats up his arm when Jongin accidentally knocks his elbow into the tiled wall.

They actually do end up showering together, going through their separate routines all squished up in the small stall. If their hands roam a little more than they should, no one else knows.

Eventually, the locker room empties out. Apart from their still-running shower, Sehun doesn’t hear any other sounds. The second he locks eyes with Jongin, the latter waggles his eyebrows and Sehun bursts out laughing.

“Babe, we can’t –”

“Yes we can,” Jongin interrupts, arms circling Sehun’s waist and tugging him close. “We can, and you wanna know why? Because it’s our anniversary in two days.”

“That doesn’t even make _sense_ ,” Sehun laugh-groans. Despite those half-hearted complaints, he doesn’t complain in the slightest when Jongin’s lips find their way to that one sensitive spot on his neck, nor does he try to get Jongin to stop when those same lips trail further south.

In fact, he’s the one who reaches between Jongin’s legs first, clever fingers coaxing his boyfriend to full hardness. He’s the one who licks into Jongin’s mouth, free hand curling into wet locks of hair for purchase. He’s the one who pushes down on Jongin’s shoulder, feet shifting further apart for balance when Jongin sinks to his knees willingly.

Fingertips dig into the muscles of Sehun’s thighs and it takes all of Sehun’s willpower not to let that moan slip out of him when he slides a little farther down Jongin’s throat. Jongin has always been able to make Sehun come within minutes if he really put his mind to it, and it’s a very handy skill to have in situations like these. It’s clear that he’s putting it to good use right now, if the way his throat works and his cheeks hollow is anything to go by.

“Jongin, if you keep –” A pinched moan interrupts his sentence, eyes slamming shut when Jongin tugs lightly at his balls.

It’s a true testament to Jongin’s ability when Sehun spills his load not long after, gripping painfully at Jongin’s hair as his thighs quake and abs clench. Jongin coaxes out every last drop, gently suckling on the head until Sehun’s squirming from the sensitivity.

When Sehun tries to return the favour, Jongin cups his jaw and pulls him back up to his feet instead. “Just kiss me.” And Sehun does, because even the strongest man would falter in the face of Kim Jongin asking for a kiss.

There, pressed up against the wall with water beating down on them, Sehun finishes Jongin off with a hand and their lips never parting. The evidence of their lovemaking is quickly washed away, leaving behind kiss-swollen lips and marks on their skin from hard grips.

They stand there for a minute or two with Jongin’s forehead resting on the sharp ridge of Sehun’s clavicle, uncaring of water getting into their ears and eyes.

“Love you,” Sehun whispers, lips flush against Jongin’s ear. He feels Jongin’s smile against his skin.

  
On Sunday, Jongin wakes up to sunlight trickling into the room from the gap between their curtains and a familiar weight straddling him.

“Sehun?”

He gets a low, sultry hum in reply, and the weight shifts forward. There’s a damp trail running down the middle of his stomach, and despite the sleep fog that’s still clouding his mind, Jongin instinctively knows what it is. Unfortunately, his eyelids are far too heavy for him to open right then and there. He can picture it in his mind though,

“Took you a while to wake up,” Sehun says, tugging on Jongin’s earlobe with his teeth. He noses along Jongin’s jawline and drops a kiss on the corner of his mouth. “Happy first anniversary, baby. I love you so much.”

With that, Jongin feels the most exquisite tightness slip down around his cock. The mind-numbing pleasure blends perfectly with the residual drowsiness still deep in his bones, a combination that they rarely have the pleasure to indulge in, what with their busy schedules.

It’s slow and lazy, Sehun’s chest flush against Jongin’s as he nuzzles into his neck and breathes in that lovely, familiar scent. Jongin’s hands gently cup the swell of his ass, one rocking up while the other rocks down, and everything is quiet save for their exhalations of breath.

Sehun comes first, spilling wet between their stomachs as he sinks his teeth into the meat of Jongin’s shoulder. There’s a love declaration whispered into his ear and Sehun sighs, bracing his knees against the mattress so Jongin – relatively more awake by this point – can thrust up a little harder.

“One whole year, QB. Of you and me, together. I’ve never been happier.”

He kisses Jongin once, right over his pulse point, and a breath catches in his throat when the grip on his ass tightens. Sehun counts five (more like four and a half, really) thrusts before Jongin’s coming with a groan, come pulsing out of his cock and slicking up his insides.

“Not that I’m complaining about being woken up like this,” Jongin mumbles, hands moving from Sehun’s butt up to his waist, “but this makes it that much harder to want to get out of bed.”

Jongin’s hold around his middle is secure, so Sehun makes himself comfortable on top of his boyfriend and snuggles close. “You can close your eyes for a little longer if you’d like. I’ll wake you up in a bit.”

As Jongin dozes, his breathing even and deep, Sehun closes his own eyes and plays with a few strands of Jongin’s hair. A perfect start to a perfect day, he thinks, and smiles to himself.

  
Lunch turns out to be a wonderfully fun affair. They head over to Sehun’s family home, graciously left vacant for the day, and commandeer the kitchen. They cook each other lunch, putting together a meal that they know the other person will love. It gets a little crazy, because there’s only so much space the kitchen offers and they’re both trying their best to keep the menus a secret.

But it all works out in the end – armed with their respective meals, they head out into the garden and eat beneath the blue sky and warm sunshine, bare feet tangled up and elbows knocking. Sehun takes a ridiculous amount of pictures of the both of them, posting the nice ones up onto his Instagram story, intent on letting every single one of his followers know just what day it is.

Baekhyun replies to each post with a copied-and-pasted _All me!!!!!!!_ and Sehun replies to the last message with a _yes, thank you so much_.

When the sunlight starts getting a little too warm for Sehun’s liking, they head back inside. Jongin follows close behind as Sehun leads them upstairs, his camera slung over a shoulder and ready for photo opportunities.

“There’s something that I want to play for you,” Sehun says, opening the door to his practice studio. It’s probably only the third or fourth time Jongin has ever been inside, and it has definitely been a long time since he’d last heard Sehun play.

There’s the rustling of papers, then Sehun picks up a violin that’s resting on the armchair and rests it on his shoulder. He lifts his bow, gives Jongin a small smile, and starts to play.  
  
It takes a moment for Jongin to place the song, but it finally hits him. Perfect by Ed Sheeran, arranged by Sehun himself, if the handwritten sheet music is anything to go by. Jongin wants to take photographs, but he also wants to listen, so he compromises by snapping a few quick shots before setting his camera down.

Sehun plays like a dream. If it weren’t for his exceptional skills in the water, Jongin would have insisted that he made music something more than just a hobby. It’s easy to lose himself in the music, in the way Sehun’s fingers move along the strings and the way the bow pulls. His profile is breathtaking, sharp lines highlighted by the shadows and the sheer intensity of his focus.

The music ends far too soon for Jongin’s liking.

“I hope you know just how much you inspire me,” Jongin says, watching as Sehun sets the violin down. “Every day I spend with you, you make me want to better myself.”

Sehun looks away, a little embarrassed, and Jongin basks in the sweet ache blooming in his heart at the sight. He smiles and reaches out for Sehun’s hand.

“Can I give you your anniversary present now?” It’s sitting in his pocket, light in weight but heavy with meaning.

“My – Oh, yeah, sure! Your present is in my old room, let me just –”

A gentle tug on Sehun’s wrist has him shutting up. “You can give it to me later, baby. I just want to give you yours now.”

The armchair is too small to fit the two of them, so Sehun makes himself comfortable on Jongin’s lap while the latter digs into his pocket. He brings out a little velvet box – inside, the pendant and chain are newly polished and ready to be given to the one person who’s arguably the love of his life.

“It’s not a ring,” he hastens to explain. Sehun’s eyes crinkle in amusement. “But in a sense, it is?”

“A promise ring? Way to spoil the surprise.”

“Not a promise ring, exactly.” He presses the box into Sehun’s palm and gestures for him to open it.

Sehun cracks the box open, and when his eyes land on the pendant inside, his lips part in wonder.

“It’s… exquisite.”

“You don’t have to wear it, of course. I know it would get in the way of training and everything. I just want you to have it.”

“Where did you get this?”

“It’s been in my family for generations. My sisters don’t care much for it, so my mother gave it to me. And now I’m giving it to you.”

Carefully, Sehun thumbs at the pendant and lifts it out of the box.

“To me? But it’s your family’s heirloom.”

“I consider you my family.” He says it so casually, almost as if he was commenting on the weather. “I know my family considers you as fam–.”

Jongin nearly bites down on Sehun’s lip out of shock, but he manages to recover quickly, reaching up with a hand to cradle the base of Sehun’s skull as he kisses back.

“I love you,” Sehun mumbles. “I’ll keep it safe, I promise.” Another handful of kisses, then Sehun’s pulling back and getting to his feet. “Come, I wanna give you yours.”

A trip down the hallway later and Jongin’s staring down at a huge painting of the two of them. He remembers the photograph that the painting’s based on – it was taken at the Christmas Market last December, the both of them clutching cups of hot chocolate with matching beanies pulled down over their ears.

It’s an adorable picture, because they’re looking at each other instead of the camera – bless Yixing for snapping the photograph, honestly – with the sappiest looks on their faces. The photo was Jongin’s lock screen for a few months until another photo replaced it and he vaguely remembers telling Sehun how much he loves it.

Now he has a _life-sized_ painted version, one he can hang up in his room back home (it’s much too big for their apartment, unfortunately).

“I… really fucking love this,” Jongin says, finally tearing his gaze away from it in order to look at Sehun. “It’s perfect, babe.”

He leans over and plants a kiss on Sehun’s temple.

“There’s just one tiny problem though. How am I gonna bring it back to my parents’?”

  
After a nice, casual dinner at their favourite family-run neighbourhood restaurant, they wrap up this special day back in their cozy little apartment. As a movie plays in the background, they share a tub of ice cream with Jongin’s feet tucked under Sehun’s thighs.

Sehun’s actually paying attention to the movie, so Jongin takes the time to drink in the sight of Sehun all freshly showered and well-fed, looking so warm and comfortable that Jongin wants to wrap his limbs all around him and never let go.

365 days in the making and sometimes Jongin still has a hard time wrapping his mind around the fact that he can actually call this man his. He must’ve had some cringeworthy expression on his face, because when Sehun turns to him for more ice cream, he catches sight of it and snorts.

“Jongin, I know you love me, and I know today’s our anniversary, but you don’t have to keep giving me that look.”

“Hey,” Jongin says defensively. He can feel his ears heating up. “You can’t blame me, alright?”

Sehun plucks the ice cream tub out of Jongin’s hands and sets it aside. Scooting close, he leans in to give Jongin a kiss, one that tastes of macadamia and rich vanilla bean. It’s instantly addictive.

“Oh, you sweet thing. I can only hope that when you look at me, you see what I see right now.”

“I do. I really, really do.”

**Author's Note:**

> I never specified their anniversary date (it is in late October, but the date is up to you~) nor the design of Jongin's family heirloom. Feel free to use your imagination!
> 
> Check out [this](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8DXM1GMi9c) electric violin cover of Perfect!
> 
> P.S. I wrote that miniature billiards scene before Sehun and Chanyeol played it irl ok, just a coincidence
> 
> [Click for Links!](https://bluedveins.wixsite.com/evoxine)


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